Cushioned toe reenforce for lasts



July l0, 1923- 1,461,469 RT c. WEBSTER CUSHIONED TOE REENFORCE FOR LASTS Filed March l, 1919 This kind of liber has great strength and toughness, is not brittle nor is it easily chipped by knocking about. and hammering of the last, it does not flow and take a per-y manent set under blows of the hammer, as soft metal does, and it is at the same time yielding enough so that it does not cut or deface the upper leather or the fabric lining when the shoe upperis hammered upon in the course of either lasting a turned shoe or smoothing out the upper of such shoe after it has been turned, or in lasting any other sort of a shoe.

In the opera-tion of lasting the sole is secured temporarily to .the last bottom by a number of tacks, one of which is driven near the toe and near the longitudinal center line of the last bottom; inv other words in the part occupied by the reenforce. lfhe above described liber which I prefer to use for the reenforce is so hard and tough that it will turn t-he points of most tacks driven into it, and is liable to Ibe torn when a .tack which has penetrated it is afterwards drawn, wherefore I have provided an in serted plug f which is forced into ahole in the reenforce at the point where the toe tack for thus temporarily securing the sole is ordinarily placed. I have used leather as the material for this plug since leather is readily penetrable by a tack and it has such a closely knit fibrous structure that it is not injured by many times repeatedv insertions and removals of tack points. In thus indicating' the advantages of yleather as the material for the tack-receiving insert, I do not restrict this feature of the invention to that specific materia-l, but intend to protect an insert of any sortof material adapted to serve. the purpose. Another feature to which I direct attention is that the screw d is .placed so near tothe inserted plug that its head somewhatV overlaps the rim of the. plug and so prevents the latter from dropping out of place. l may omit this feature without departure from the main idea ofthe invention. and depend upon friction alone or adhesive to retain the plug in position; but the particular means above described, consistingof the overlapping screw head is ofvalue in some n instances, and is here claimed.

lVhat I claim and desire to secure Letters Patent is:

l. A wooden last having applied to its bottom a reinforcing piece of material tougher and more tenacious than wood extending lengthwise of the last body and its forward end providing the toe extremityof the last, and a cushion interposed between said piece and the last body.

2. A last having a groove or channel in its bottom extending longitudinally and including the center of the toe extremity, a cushion strip laid in said groove next to the last body, and a. reinforcing strip laid upon said cushion strip, its outer surface being substantially flush with the bottom of the last, and its forward end forming the.

ltoe extremity.

3. A last comprising a wooden body hav-r ing a narrow toe end, a reinforcing strip of material having greater tenacity than wood set into the bottom of the last and disposed to form the tip and sides adjacent to the tip7 of the toe extremity thereof, and a cushion interposedbetween said strip and the overlying last body. i

4. The combination with a woodenlast, of a hard liber reenforce inlaid in the bot-k tom between the sides y.of the last and fornr ing the toe extremity thereof such reenforce being of less width than the toe part of the last back from said Vextremity and a` cushion piece of vulcanized rubber compo sition interposed between the fiber reenforce and the wood of the last.

5. A last comprising a wooden body, are- .inforc'e of .a harder Aand more tenancious` material than Wood applied tothe bottom of said last and having a hole in` it, a body of `more readily penetrable material contained in said hole, and a headed fastener .securing said reenfo-rcel to the las-t and arranged with its head overlapping the rim of said inserted body.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

RALPH C. VEBSTER.V 

